Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference

Hosted by SABR's Negro Leagues Research Committee, the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference will be on hiatus for 2018. But we are now accepting proposals to host the 2019 Malloy Conference. If your local committee or SABR chapter has an interest in being a site coordinator, please send an email to Larry Lester (ntresearch@comcast.net) requesting an application proposal with guidelines and recommendations. We look forward to helping you promote the rich history of black baseball in your local area.

Since 1998, the Malloy Conference has been the only symposium dedicated exclusively to the examination and promotion of black baseball history. The conference is open to baseball and history fans of all ages. Each year, monies are targeted to donate books to schools or libraries; raise funds for the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project; and award scholarships to high school seniors in a nationwide essay contest and a nationwide art contest.

Click a link below to learn more about the 2018 Malloy Conference essay contest and scholarships, art competition, and school library grants.

SABR's Negro Leagues Committee will award $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors in its 10th annual Thomas R. Garrett Scholarship essay contest in 2018. Students must write a 1,200-word essay answering a question related to one of the Negro League figures who are the namesakes of the scholarships: Andrew "Rube" Foster, Robert Peterson, Normal "Tweed" Webb, and Jimmie Crutchfield. Click here to learn more or to download an application. The deadline to apply for the Foster, Peterson, and Webb scholarships is April 16, 2018. The deadline to apply for the Crutchfield scholarship is May 4, 2018. Eligible applicants must be 1) a current high school senior, 2) anticipating completion of high school diploma at the time of application, 3) planning to pursue a degree at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution, and 4) carrying a minimum 2.5 GPA at the end of their junior year of high school. Please e-mail or mail all materials to Dr. Leslie Heaphy at Lheaphy@kent.edu.

SABR's Negro Leagues Research Committee will award two $500 Dick Clark Memorial Library Grants for 2018. School and community libraries from across the country are invited to submit grant proposals centering on educating students and the community about black baseball and American history. Click here to download the PDF application for eligibility requirements, submission criteria, and style guidelines. The deadline to apply is May 8, 2018. Questions can be directed to Leslie Heaphy (Lheaphy@kent.edu), Mark Moore (mmoore@cpl.org), Tim Bottorff (tbottorf@mail.ucf.edu), or Marlene Vogelsang (mvogelsang@sbcglobal.net).

SABR's Negro Leagues Committee's will hold its ninth annual Youth Art Contest in 2018. The theme is "Black Baseball Life" and the cost is $10 per three entries. No limit on entries per school. The winning artist will receive a $150 prize. All schools that enter students will be placed in a drawing for a prize of $250 worth of age-appropriate Negro Leagues baseball books for their school library. Click here to download the PDF application for eligibility requirements and submission criteria. The deadline to apply is June 4, 2018. Questions can be directed to Leslie Heaphy (Lheaphy@kent.edu).

One of our newest publications from the SABR Digital Library focuses on the end of an era in black baseball. Bittersweet Goodbye: The Black Barons, the Grays, and the 1948 Negro League World Series, edited by Frederick C. Bush and Bill Nowlin, was inspired by the last Negro League World Series ever played and presents biographies of the players on the two contending teams in 1948 — the Birmingham Black Barons and the Homestead Grays — as well as the managers, the owners, and articles on the ballparks the teams called home. Also included are articles that recap the season’s two East-West All-Star Games, the Negro National League and Negro American League playoff series, and the World Series itself. Additional context is provided in essays about the effects of Organized Baseball’s integration on the Negro Leagues, the exodus of Negro League players to Canada, and the signing away of top Negro League players, specifically Willie Mays.